beautiful S P L I N T E R
by I Spaz With Pizzazz
Summary: Sasori was closing himself up. Deidara couldn't stand watching. Shounen-ai, Deidara/Sasori. -Complete-
1. Popcorn, Lovely

**A/N **Halloa, Lazzy here...this is my first story, so please read it and comment, maybe...? Thank joo. Credits go to Kishimoto-sensei, all I did was write it...yeah...! So! Please read it, un?

* * *

Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O1

"Danna, Danna, please tell me…what goes on in that flaming head of yours, un? Please tell me when it is really on fire inside, burning and scorching your skull and it hurts and you're scared…please, Danna, tell me when you need me to hold you."

The words were quiet as they burbled out of Deidara's mouth while he lay curled in his bed, clutching the pillow. The room was darkened for the night, darkened like there could be things there, like monsters and other ghouls. Yeah, the things of childhood nightmares, but some nights Deidara still saw them in the shadows while he shivered, worrying. Did Sasori see them some days too? Maybe?

The puppet was strong (or so he acted) with those eyes of his, those beautiful eyes of his. They could snatch Deidara up however they wanted, and shackle him in their gaze. They were cold eyes sometimes, but when it was just his eyes alone with Deidara's they softened like melting ice cream. And it made the bomber twitch with a bit of joy to see Sasori coming out, just a bit.

Lately though, oh, his Danna. His Danna's eyes were kept half closed, down, and not even trying to trap his own. They watched the dust on the floor, and watched the feet of the other Akatsuki, but seemed focused on nothing but the inside of his pupils.

Deidara swallowed, squeezing his pillow in the dark. _What are you doing now, Danna? Are you asleep, or are you lying there too? Or do you cry when you're alone and no one can see you?_

Nervous as he looked into the black of his room, the blonde was left to just be wondering. Could a puppet even cry if he wanted to, or could it only fall limp when no one held it up by its strings? Was falling limp the only way that a puppet could show that it was stinging inside, for whatever reason?

Because Sasori was the limpest right now that Deidara had ever seen him.

"Damn it Danna, un." He cursed in the night, thrusting the pillow across the room; and the slight thump of impact on the wall eradicated his anger. It sounded like a puppet collapsing on the ground.

"Okay." The whispered tone was back as he tried to shake the image of Sasori falling from his head, "You know what, un? I don't care if you yell at me, I'm coming. To hell with it, h'm!"

He swept himself out of bed, grabbed up the pillow, and strode from the room with no light to show him where to step. Oh, the monsters hiding in the dark? He was more frightened of the monsters that might have gotten to Sasori while he wasn't there to protect him.

But of course, Deidara couldn't just wander into his Danna's room at night without a valid reason…Sasori might come to assume that his partner was after…certain favours. Not tonight, though.

"It's innocent, I swear, un!" Dei smiled, noticing a bag of popcorn someone had left on the lair's kitchen table. (Popcorn was Hidan's secret addiction, but everyone was supposed to pretend they didn't know. Like a Jashinist was above popcorn or something. Whatever.)

He was impatient as he listened to the jumping kernels as they popped, but was somewhat calmed by their rhythm. They weren't afraid to wake up even though it was still dark. Sasori could open up to Deidara, couldn't he? Wouldn't he? Where was trust between them; they were partners, lovers, friends, right? In that moment, to be Sasori's dear friend was what the bomber wanted most. It was all he begged for then, just to be there and make his Danna's eyes come back.

Make his Danna's eyes come back to him.

Standing by the entryway of Sasori's room, Dei quivered a bit. With his pillow tucked beneath his arm and cradling the popcorn bag in his hand, he fretted that he might be turned away.

Blinking in his nerves, he struck the wood of the door a few times softly with a knuckle. "Sasori no Danna, un? Are you there?"

And then came that beautiful, pale face that Deidara loved, swinging open the door and staring straight at him. "Deidara, you stupid little shit, do you know what the hour is? You idiot."

Aw, his adorable Danna! The curses made Dei smile widely, and he brandished his popcorn bag. "I was hungry, un, but I can't eat the whole thing by myself."

Though Sasori was annoyed, he let his partner in with a sigh. "Fool…whatever."

"Yaye!" Deidara cooed, slapping his pillow at the end of Sasori's bed, flopping on it as he crunched a salty piece of the popcorn. "It's a sleepover, un!"

"Idiot," the puppet repeated, but sat next to him anyway. His eyes were veiled, so veiled, and the blonde's smile shrank just a bit. But, he'd let him in, and that counted for something, didn't it? Right? Yeah?

Please?

_Just don't give up, right? Don't give up until you win, un. It's a battle. In a twisted way, it's like I'm fighting you, Danna…but I won't lose, un!_

And with a sly smirk pasting itself on Deidara's lips, he plucked a white cloud from the bag and flicked it at the red head.

"What…what the hell?" he raised a hand to his ear where he had been struck, and peered at his assailant. "What the hell?!"

Dei pouted while he grinned, "You're not eating, un! I brought it for you, too!"

"Ehh…" Was that a tiny smile Sasori was hiding?

"Danna, Danna, puh-weeeeease?" he tossed another at his partner, giggling, and then a third, "Please, un?"

"Oh, dammit!" Give me that!" the puppet lunged on top of Dei, squabbling for the bag.

"Ha ha," the blonde chuckled, squirming away and getting another shot off at Sasori's nose.

"Come here!"

"Oh…"

He was caught now, with Sasori crouched over top of him, with a genuine smile. It was slight, but that was just Sasori's smile.

And it was beautiful.

"What are you going to do now, little shit?" he crooned, stealing a piece of popcorn from the bag still held in Deidara's hand. "I think you're stuck…" he fingered the kernel a moment before looking back into Dei's face. "Hm…"

He bent, his own face barely separated from his partner's.

"Wha…what are you going to do…?" Dei stammered, feeling quite trapped.

"I…am…I'm going to…" Sasori whispered, leaning in, "Well…"

And then, Dei felt the popcorn placed gently into his open mouth.

Oh.

"Eat up you skinny shit," the puppeteer rolled away, and smiled for a moment more. "Goodnight, Deidara."

The bomber swallowed and nodded, reaching for his pillow. "Yeah."

And the night settled into gentle sleep.

Sasori had opened his eyes for those minutes, opened them for Deidara, but in the morning he was afraid that they might start to close again.

He'd see where they were when the sun woke them.

He wasn't afraid to keep up his battle to rescue his dear beautiful Danna from his demons.

_Never, un._


	2. Well, I'm Allergic to Weasels

**A/N: **well, I'm glad that people like this. Here's the next chapter, Dei's got a bit of an issue coming up…please enjoy! Again, I don't own Naruto! Or there would be...oh hell; there'd be bushels of yaoi as the main story. (Not that I'd mind…uwah. Heh. Yaoi lovers, UNITE!)

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Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O2

Morning broke and rustles of awake Akatsuki members filtered through Sasori's door from the kitchen. Deidara moaned groggily when his partner shook him. "What, Danna, un?"

"Up," a command. Well. Damn. Sasori's eyes were a bit more alive, but as Dei had expected, he'd fallen back again through the night.

"Ohh, look. It's those two.," Hidan remarked, drumming his fingers on the table. "You two made a hell of a racket giggling last night…do I wanna know?"

"Leave them alone, Hidan," Kakuzu muttered, reaching for a cereal box. "You should be more concerned about how high the price of simple Oaty-Oats is anymore…"

"Well, here's something to interest you, even…" came the Jashinist's counter, "the price of popcorn is fucking rising too, and the bag that was here yesterday has now mysteriously disappeared…you should FILLET the bastard who wasted it…!" A cough. "Not that it was _my _popcorn…"

Meanwhile, Deidara watched Sasori and pretended not to notice his little theft had been discovered. All that occupied him was the eyes of his Danna, those eyes which showed a heavy heart that no one was allowed to look at.

_I want to steal your heart, un. I just want to rip it right out of your chest…container and all and just cradle it until it gets lighter for you to carry around, un. I want to steal your heart, Sasori…_

But where was he supposed to get the perfect idea to save him? Wake him up so he'd realize that he wasn't lying cold in the ground somewhere good and dead…

Dei liked him alive.

Dei loved him alive.

When Itachi and Kisame at last wandered in for breakfast, the Uchiha glanced toward Sasori, pausing for a moment. What caught Deidara about it was how the moment felt like a scratch on a CD, stopping without sound for a second only. A scratch that did not belong on the shiny surface.

A slight glance, but a glance Sasori returned.

Lately, Sasori hadn't been returning and glances.

Oh.

The bomber could barely swallow his Oaty-Oats.

_Okay, so don't over react. Itachi's probably just noticed Danna's state lately, un. He's probably worried too. Just concerned, un!_

He had a right to be concerned, of course, of course! The more people who tried to help, the better. Sasori-sama would get better sooner, yeah? Wasn't that how it worked?

But Dei did want to be the one to rescue him…to be the one he glanced at for that help.

And he didn't quite like how this was coming along.

Damn weasel. That wasn't entirely just an 'I'm-here-for-you' look; it was a different look…!! (Unless Dei was mistaken. Which it didn't feel like.)

_Unless I'm over reacting…un?"_

"Deidara, could you give me the salt?" it was the cool voice of Itachi himself.

"Eh? Wha…what, un?"

Sasori reached across the table to pass the shaker. "Ignore him…he's spacing out again. Here."

The blonde blinked. "Oh. Sorry…"

And no, he wasn't a fan of this mysterious salt-passing either.

"Danna…?" he tried to make his voice eager, peppy. Uplifting the best he could be. "Do you want to see some of my latest art, un?"

This plan was simply to take the puppet away for a while to ask (nonchalantly, of course) about that possible very unwanted worry.

Over reacting.

Over reacting in a very bad way.

Please?

"Mm, you can't call that _true _art," Sasori's eyes did slither up some when he spoke.

_Ha. Take that, Itachi, un! Oh, hey, don't get competitive, you stupid shit, un…! THERE IS NO REASON TO DO THAT… THERE IS NO REASON, un. Of course._

"…but I'll go look anyway. Of course, Deidara. Of course."

"Aha, un! OF COURSE!"

TAKE THAT, ITACHI.

Dei led the way back to his room, and swept up his latest sculpture, a finely molded eagle. The explosion would be beautiful, so colourful, so lovely, and so bright and red.

Bright and red like his Sasori's precious head…heh.

"Ahh, why do you have to blow it all up?" Sasori scolded as he scoured every line of the bird.

Oh, just look at how intense his gaze was there. Just look at it, wouldn't you…?

Opened.

Opened.

_I can, un. I can open them, why won't they stay? Aren't I enough, un…? To make them always so open where I can see how pretty they are…?_

"Um," Dei began, "Itachi can't make any kind of art. To explode or otherwise, un."

Sasori's head swiveled and cocked, "Itachi? What's this about Ita-kun?"

"Ahm…well, un…this morning you sort of, er…"

"Oh, my dear idiot. You aren't _jealous_?" he raised his hand and swept a strand of the blonde's hair away from his face. "You take good care of me…you worry far too much."

"Really, un?" he shivered as his partner's finger touched his skin tenderly. The sort of sweet moment he lived for.

"Yes…I'm allowed to have a friend, yes?" he dropped his hand, and the wisp of radiant blonde hair fell also. "Anyway. Just once, you should have one piece of artwork left in one piece… Maybe?"

A swallow. "Maybe."

Deidara knew what he'd leave solid…he'd chose _themselves_ to be eternal. That's what he'd pick.

They were the one thing he wanted to last forever.

"Please stop worrying?"

Over reacting.

Over reacting.

"Okay, un."


	3. You, Me, and the End of the World

**A/N: **Hooray for more positive-ness. Thank you, everyone! Today, you get some uke(!) Sasori…uwah. Please review? And of course I still don't own Naruto. No, I haven't suddenly bought it or anything. Yeah. It's still Kishimoto's. Don't act so surprised. X3 (I wish I could buy it…! -wistful sigh-)

I don't like this chapter as much as the first two, but maybe you still will anyway. Hopefully? -smile-

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Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O3

Deidara was never much for promises because it was always too easy to lie for most people. They could say any word they ever wanted without and hint of a lie…and it made Dei nervous to make promises even himself. No, he wasn't one of those deftly skilled liars, but he was somewhat terrified he might suddenly become one.

There was one promise, though, that he made every day. He promised it to anyone who was willing to hear it, but it was mostly for his own assurance, and was directed toward the beautiful, splintered person that he would protect from anything. From anything, no matter how fearsome it was.

"I'll always love you, Sasori no Danna. No matter what, un."

"Do you believe in god, Dei-chan?"

The blonde raised his visible eyebrow. "Has Hidan been trying to convert you, un?"

He and Sasori were perched in the cradling branches of a great maple tree on the hill nearby the base. The moon beamed down on them as they sat together, Sasori reclining against Deidara's chest. It was a cool night, but their body heat was enough to keep them plenty warm.

Tufts of red hair shifted as the puppeteer shook his head, "No, I've already declined so much that he finally gave up."

Dei smiled, "Well, un. You _can_ be quite intimidating…and I don't think Jashin-sama accepts sacrifices of puppets, un!"

Ohh, really? I thought I might finally ask Hidan for a pamphlet on Jashinism… You're _sure_ the sacrifices have to be fleshy people?"

"What? Hidan's got _pamphlets _now, un?!"

Sasori glanced up at his shocked companion with his tiny half smile. "No, Dei-chan. It's called I was attempting a joke."

Oh.

Well that was certainly something new.

Sasori cracking a joke was as strange as it would be to find Zetsu opening a toy store and becoming the best friend of every child who visited…and not eating them. Or maybe as insane an idea as Kakuzu donating every scrap of profit he'd ever made to charity…

Yeah. Kakuzu wasn't really a fan of giving to charity.

A long sigh from Sasori's throat stopped the bomber's mind wanderings. So, the joking was over then… Ah. Were they going back into that dark place Deidara hated again? The one where his Danna was too proud to cry but still too sad to be fully alive?

Dei wanted to torch the gloomy side. He wanted the wood of that alternate puppet to turn to ashes, and then to dust, and then scatter in the wind so far away that not a soul could ever find all the bits again.

Never, ever find them.

And Sasori wouldn't be afraid.

And Dei wouldn't need to be afraid for him.

"I've been thinking lately," Sasori murmured, "that maybe we aren't the ones who make decisions."

"What?"

"Maybe the stars control us. Maybe we're all puppets, actually…"

"I'm confused, un."

"What else could they do for forever but play with the people below them? Maybe we don't have any purpose but to entertain them…or god, or whoever's out there."

_No, Danna, you have a purpose! Right here, with me…_

So was Sasori confused about life and death and everything between? All of the questions of why and how? Was he trying to decide the answers?

Was that why he was so limp…?

"Well…the stars are bright, un. They're out there so we can see in the dark…" Deidara looked toward them, and they twinkled back. "I think they're on our side, un."

"Our side?"

"'Yeah…"

The two watched the stars a few moments more before Dei tilted Sasori's head back and tenderly gave a small kiss to his forehead.

"You seem tired, un." The blonde observed, "We should go in."

"Okay," he rose, sliding out of the tree before he whispered in Deidara's ear, "And also, you might be right for once, little shit. I thought about it again…you're right, the stars _are _on our side."

And Deidara smiled.

But as Sasori went on ahead into the base, the bomber noticed a slight shadow from the cover of thick tree trunks. It was only a glimpse of a person, but he could tell who.

_You're spying now, Itachi?_

The fucking weasel.

No! No beautiful puppet for you! No, no, no! He wanted to protest like a screaming toddler, sweeping Itachi up by his hair and shaking him. Instead though, he just took in a deep breath and turned to follow Sasori. Ripping out the Uchiha's hair wouldn't accomplish anything but making him bald. (Okay, well, that would be quite funny to see. Heh.)

No, be controlled. Try to stay centered? Try not to be too afraid… Yet, still…

_I don't trust you._

And with good reason.

It was some time after midnight when Deidara was returning from a trip to the bathroom, heard them.

"What did you want to see me for?"

Sasori.

"I was thinking…I saw the stars and wondered if they hated us."

Itachi?!

Was he stealing the conversation from the tree? (Aha! So he had been there…!)

The bomber cringed, staying out of sight. That conversation had belonged to him and his Danna only. The weasel did not have any right to it.

_I don't like you, Ita-kun. Not at all, un._

"Excuse me…?" It was Sasori, and he sounded surprised.

"They hate us," Itachi repeated, and moved in closer, "So they use us as…well, puppets. And they scare me, and they scare you too, don't they? So we should try to fight them, together…"

A gasp from Deidara as Itachi grabbed Sasori's arm, parted his lips, and kissed the puppet.

"Ah…!" Sasori squeaked, horror evident in his face.

Bile rose in Dei's throat, and he tore out of his cover, because the moment he let his Danna down would be the end of his world.

And he wouldn't let it end like that.

"What the fuck, weasel!" The blonde spat ripping them apart, his showing eye blazing with venom.

Itachi said nothing, just stared blankly, sort of looking surprised, before leaving coldly.

Not even a fight.

Not even a single word.

And Dei hated him then for taking advantage of a person who was in such a brittle place.

But Sasori was shivering, and the anger left Deidara when he saw his Danna shaken so.

"D-Dei-chan," he whispered, his eyes very open, but not in the way he wanted them to be, "Dei-chan, he's wrong…the stars are on our side because you came to save me, Dei-chan."

His fragile, beautiful Danna.

And together, they were both so terrified.

But…

They were together.

And when they were together, they could still stay warm.


	4. My Dear, I'm Pleading

**A/N: **it's already the fourth chapter? Oo'' Wow. When did that happen? Thank you for staying with it! There should be about three more, I think…

Nope, I don't own Naruto.

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Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O4

Deidara was considering himself pretty lucky. He'd stopped the end of the world, and had just proved how much he cared about his Danna in the same moment. If Sasori had ever doubted the bomber's care, it was all cleared up now for sure. There wasn't any way that it could still remain unclear.

It had to be.

It was the stars, it was the stars watching over them both and making sure that they were bound together at the heart. Deidara would honor their efforts by keeping his Danna safe, always.

--

"Are you all right, un?"

Sasori collected himself, rubbing his eyes like he could erase what had happened. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure, un?" he wanted to be certain that it wasn't acting. That it wasn't just opening another book inside his head and reading off one more compelling line, sentence after sentence. The puppeteer had a skill for that, and it was convincing…so convincing that Deidara knew he'd probably fallen for many lines before.

Every time there was a question asked about his feelings, Sasori nearly always flipped through his catalogue of easy replies. Telling so was easier each time, and it worried Deidara. Sasori _did _trust him more than anyone else, right?

Certainly more than he'd ever trusted Itachi, right? Especially now, right?

It had to be.

There _had _been horror in his Danna's face. He'd seen it painted there plainly. Sasori didn't want the weasel in that way.

Only Deidara could be the one to open Sasori's eyes.

The stars said so, didn't they?

"Dammit, I told you not to worry about me…" Sasori whispered, conflicted.

Oh, shit. That wasn't the greatest thing to be hearing…the breaking in his voice. He wanted to say something else besides that, but he refused to let himself. Just like always.

Deidara stared into his eyes, begging for them to stay open. Searching through them for the lost words, he stuttered, "Danna…I know you did say that, but I can't…I have to worry about you, un. I have to…"

"No, you really don't!" Sasori squirmed away when his partner offered a hand for comfort. Clouds formed in his frightened eyes, "Believe me, I wish I could let you, but…the moment I let you will be the moment the heaviness kills you…"

But it was already so heavy…

_Sasori…_

Struggling to speak, the puppeteer continued, "I wish I could just spend every moment clutching you, but…I would suffocate you, soon enough. I don't want to suffocate you, too…!"

_I don't care, I don't care! _"What if I _want _to be suffocated, un?" The blonde argued, desperate.

What about the sweet night with the popcorn?

What about comparing art?

What about the stars?

Sasori shook his messy head, not daring to look at the bomber. "I did a bad thing…I think I confused Itachi, I must have, somehow… So now, I've hurt you also…and you have to listen to me, Deidara! Are you listening…? Please…"

And as afraid as he was to hear whatever it was, he listened.

Maybe he still had a pinch of luck left that hadn't been thrown into the recipe yet. Maybe that would stop things from tasting so sour. Ha…and a moment ago, it was delicious. Was Hidan or someone paying off the stars to make it hurt so much? Hidan, the masochist…if Deidara was going to blame someone other than Itachi, Hidan would have to be it.

Because there had to be _someone _else to blame…

"I'm listening, un."

Surprise flitted across Sasori's face, and he looked up. "I wasn't…expecting…that."

The blonde tried to smile, "Well, I have to…you're my Danna, un."

After hesitating a moment, the puppet took a step back towards Dei, and returned the smile. "I wish I didn't; but Deidara…but I love you."

The smallest kiss was given before he pivoted and began walking back away.

Oh.

There we go.

A bitter sweet pinch of luck.

Maybe…

"Wait, un!"

Sasori struggled with the urge, but waited without turning forward. However, the tension in his shoulders showed he wanted to.

"I'm going to fix it, un."

A sigh. "How? I killed it."

"It's not dead…because you are not fleeting, un. You don't _do _fleeting. And I won't let you become art you don't like. And anyway, un…" he chuckled here, "if you _were_ fleeting, I couldn't look at you anymore, un."

"I really hope…you can. I'm sorry."

_Don't be sorry. I still have the stars, somewhere. And, I'm too damn stubborn, un._

It was time for his last resort. Time to turn to being annoying, to poke Sasori where he hated to be poked, and hope that it would work. If it did…no looking back. No matter if it ruined it or saved it…

Okay.

"Aw, you're always so serious, un… You need a vacation, maybe…a waterslide would cheer you up."

"What?! You're talking about waterslides at a time like this!?" Aha, that got him to whirl around in an about-face.

See?

Luck.

Right there.

From the stars.

"Glomp attack!" Deidara lunged, and refused to let go until Sasori quit protesting.

"Dammit! No! Deidara…Dei…!"

And he stopped trying to get free.

"Eh? Sasori no Danna? Did I squish you, un?"

When he looked, was that…? Was that a _tear _rolling from the puppet master's closed eyes…?

"You stupid, stubborn idiot."

"Um…sorry, un?"

"No, not you this time…"

Eh?

"Me," Sasori murmured, pulling Deidara closer, just to have something to hold. Finally letting go of his demons when someone was there to see him cry. It was strange to watch him when he was so weak…

"…Are you going to be okay now, un?"

"Tomorrow, I don't know…but right now, I…I think I'm okay. Dei-chan, either way, I'm still not good for you. I'm depressed and I'm pathetic, and…"

"Well, you know what, un? I don't care. I'm not letting go of you, un."

_I'll hold your eyes open with my own hands if I have to so that you won't keep running into your walls…and so that you can still see me standing right next to you. _

Being stubborn had its perks, but it wasn't over yet. Nothing ends so easily. Just as Deidara wouldn't let _them _end so easily, the test hadn't finished either.

--

--

--

**A/N: **I hope that wasn't too confusing… urgh. I'll do better next time, I promise! :D Anyway, thank you so much for reading…please review?


	5. Foggy With a Chance of Tears

**A/N: **Ah!! Xx This took me a while to write! I'm sorry…! X3 Ahh. But chapter five is here now. Don't worry! :D it's winding down, just two left… oh, such drama! Hehe. Enjoy this chapter, hopefully? And review if you like it? :3 Thank you for reading!!

If I owned Naruto…well, that would be _so _amazing… -dreamy sigh- Too bad I don't. D:

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Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O5

'Tomorrow' was cloudy; a perfect sky for the events of the day. In the beginning, Sasori stuck close to Deidara; uncomfortable that he was feeling so weak. It wasn't often that he was the one feeling like he needed help.

Deidara didn't mind being his crutch, not at all. Being needed was wonderful, but it was slightly shadowed by the overcast look stuck in the puppet's eyes. The rain was coming, the rain was coming. Not a friendly, refreshing rain like in springtime, but a blowing, frightening storm kind of rain. If he could build one fast enough, Deidara would build a roof over his Danna's head, ubt they were already starting to feel a few drops on their shoulders.

Almost out of time.

_Hurry, un._

Open your eyes so that you see that the rain is coming and you can go inside where it's dry and safe, where you won't be swept away in the rushing torrent heaven dropped on you.

--

When they had a moment of just them alone, Sasori mentioned quietly, "This morning Itachi told me he and Kisame were leaving later today for a mission."

Oh, hell yes. Goodbye, Mr. Weasel. He-who-dared-to-kiss-Danna-and-was-not-Dei. But of course, Dei politely didn't break into song and dance and fist pumping. Instead, he said, "Isn't that a good thing, though, un? Why are you so sad looking?"

Sasori watched a spider crawling up the wall as he spoke softly, "I guess, maybe. If you think so."

His eyelids drifted down, but Deidara promised himself it was only because the puppet master was tired. Since Itachi was leaving, there'd be time to mend and become healthy hearted again. Wasn't that the truth of it? "Well, yeah, un. You can forget about him now."

"you make it sound easy," he laughed gently, "to 'forget'. How long does it take to _really _forget? To erase? Not just put behind, because even then things can catch up…"

Downward, downward eyes.

That was exactly why Deidara hated making promises. In the course of four sentences, the promise he'd made to himself of Sasori simply being tired had imploded.

_But please don't give up, un._

Stay afloat, even when the downpour floods the streets you walk on.

He begged: Please, please tell me it will soon evaporate…

_Do you hear me, stars?_

Not yet.

Not yet.

"Dei-chan, you don't think Ita-kun…" he stopped, merely following the spider's path, watching so closely like the tiny spider was the most important thing in the world.

Why the spider?

Hm…?

Probably…probably nothing. Just a distraction. Sasori was probably desperate for a distraction, any distraction, to occupy him if only for a moment away from all the other things he was dealing with. Right now though, Deidara wanted to talk about those things. He needed to, because the rain was making it harder for even him to see straight.

"You were saying? About Itachi, un?"

"Oh." Sasori blinked, but kept watching his spider scuttling along. "Ah…Ita-kun. I was…worried…that he might…if I…confused him so badly that he…feels dark, too."

"Itachi is Itachi, un. He's always dark…"

"I know, dammit, but…!" He snapped, but calmed quickly, "I'm just worried that I might have made it so he won't pay so much attention on this mission of his… Deidara, if he is hurt, I won't know if I should call it my fault…"

Urgh. "He won't get hurt though, he never does. That bastard is strong, un. You know that."

Dei tried to remind him again that Itachi was Itachi, and Itachi rarely failed, but Sasori wasn't hearing any voices but the ones in his head. The screaming voices in his head.

Deidara hated those voices for making his Danna deaf to reason, and deaf to the obvious. Mostly though, he hated them for making his Danna deaf to his own sinking situation, the one where he was near neck high in muck, and wasn't even trying to climb out.

Paradise _was _lost.

Maybe, jumping to conclusions really, really wasn't a good thing to do. Despite one of the thorns being dug out, Sasori just kept hurting. He didn't notice it was gone. Instead, he worried more and more, and _about _that very thorn. He hurted over and over again.

The bomber hurted along with him.

So Sasori had misled Itachi some; so it was sort of both their faults, but Sasori didn't need to punish himself any more. Itachi had been cleared of any confusion he might've had. He knew now for sure that the blonde and the puppet were glued only to each other.

So why did the puppet still not see, too…?

Deidara's beautiful splinter was pricking him harder. So much pain, but he loved Sasori too much to leave.

Fix it; fix it, please, please…

Begging. Just begging for a way to save the day and open those eyes.

After a long pause, Sasori muttered, "Whatever you say, Dei-chan. You know I always try to believe you."

But the conviction in it was smaller than a speck.

Helpless, Deidara turned to watching the spider on the wall also. He wanted a distraction too, if he could have one.

The spider tripped, falling down from the ceiling, but it caught itself in mid-air with its web string. Without missing much of a beat, it crawled back up on its shiny silver string, at home on the ceiling once more.

_So what you're trying to tell me, Mr. Spider, is that there's still some hope left to save him, un? That there is still a safety rope, though it's hard to see, but I can still save him, un…?_

Deidara believed that there was.

There had to be, even if he'd need to strain his eyes to find it. Sasori couldn't use_ his_ eyesanymore, but Deidara still had some sight left…


	6. Please, Put it Down

**A/N: **Uwah, it's almost done! X3 chapter seven will come next, and it will be the end of Splinter…for now though, please enjoy chapter six! It's pretty sticky for Dei-chan… If you like it, maybe review? But mostly, thank you so much for reading! :D

If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be putting this disclaimer here.

--

Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O6

Right away, Deidara could tell that something was wrong with his Danna. It was as easily alarming as it had been the first time he saw it, but now it was much, much bigger. Clearly, he hadn't seen any hope when the spider fell. All he must have seen was the tumbling down, not the climbing back up. The puppet was mimicking that fall, and leaving out the rescue part.

Deidara didn't like the looks of it.

Slowly, Sasori spoke, "I think I'm…I think tired…excuse me." And when he walked past the bomber, there was no life in his step, but just before he turned down the other hallway, Deidara could've sworn he'd whispered, "_Save me…_"

_I will, un…_

--

If things were bad before, they were worse now. That whisper…it wasn't only in Deidara's head; it had come from Sasori's throat. His own throat. The puppeteer never asked for anything, much less help, but it hadn't been his imagination.

So what was going to happen? What did he have to save him from now…?

Himself?

It was just about the only things left there was… Sasori was eating himself from the inside, chewing up his strength.

Save me.

Save me.

Save me.

The words pounded in Deidara's thoughts, drumming a threatening rhythm in his brain. Since Sasori knew somewhere inside him that he needed saving, that meant he was already faltering badly. With a heavy heart and heavy eyes and heavy feet, he couldn't keep moving. No matter how hard he was trying (if he even was anymore), he couldn't out run the darkness that had seen him as prey.

Easy, easy prey.

Prey that was already half dead, so the vultures wouldn't need to try hard to get a meal.

Well, that was only if Deidara didn't get there first.

The blonde wasn't about to give in, despite his Danna withering away to nothing. It was time for Deidara to stop hanging in the background; time for him to stay in the front. He'd been in the front before, but he'd always stepped back once he though the danger was gone.

Well, just thinking he'd gotten rid of it wasn't always good enough.

Most of the time, he _was _the one who needed the help from Sasori, but now it was reversed.

Sand was falling quickly inside the hourglass.

Sasori's heart beat slowly, save me, save me, save me, save me, save me, save me.

_I will, un…!_

--

"Sasori no Danna, un?" he stood outside the red head's closed door once more, with the same worry festering in his soul. This time, no stolen popcorn rested in his hand, and he wasn't going just as a distraction.

Now, he was coming to fix it.

For the last time.

He was done with living this fear over and over, again and again.

"Please open the door, un…?" with his eyes burning, tears begging to form, he tapped on the door.

No answer.

"Dammit. Don't ignore me, un!" Oh, how he wanted to cry…but he wouldn't let himself, because he had to show Sasori it was still possible to be strong. And since he was strong (right?), he fingered the door knob, and slowly turned it. "I'm…I'm coming in, un…"

As he slowly drew it open, Sasori protested, his words choking, "N-no! Stay…stay away…pl…please!"

With what Deidara saw, he almost turned around and left, because it was exactly what he was afraid of.

No, no.

No…

Save me.

Save me.

_I…will, un…_

Sasori stared up at him, a kunai knife held in shaking fingers, poised all too close over the precious box that held his stammering heart. "Dei…Dei-chan, I…"

"Please don't…" he whispered, all the air feeling so cold and stale in his lungs. "Please don't…do that…" he swallowed, almost choking on it. "Don't do that, un…!"

"I…I…"

And delicately, Deidara pried the kunai from his Danna, one finger at a time, until it was away from the precious box.

Sasori didn't fight. He gazed up into Deidara's ashy face, with eyes made of liquid uncertainty. They searched for a reason; a reason why the blonde had come. "Why…rescue me? Why, why waste yourself on me?!"

_Please understand me, if only for this one time…_

"Because I love you, un." Reaching out to stroke the youthful puppet's face, he murmured the words. The words he lived by.

The words he said with every fiber of himself.

Now, finally, the eyes of the splinter closed, and reopened, reopened wide enough for the sun to get through and evaporate the pools of watery sadness. "Oh," he said, "I guess I…didn't see."

_No, no, you didn't, un._

Deidara smiled, a tiny smile, and watched Sasori examine the hand he'd held the kunai in, looking over the wood.

"I wonder why…I didn't see… And I wonder why…" A pause, "why did you stay, though?"

Oh…

So, he still needed a little more time to remember all of it.

Rehabilitation from his dark corner.

"I couldn't ever leave, un. I just…I don't know why, really…I just…have to always stay, un."

_Because you're my Danna._

And in one more day, there would be a final step to climb over.

Just one more, just one more tiny thing to bring him all the way out, or straight back into the pool.

One more day, to prove or disprove everything.

One last chapter, very soon…


	7. So Beautiful, You Make Me Cry

**A/N: **Hey guys. :3 this is the last chapter of Splinter! I've had this scene in my head since chapter two, so I was really happy I could finally write it and share it with you all. I hope you like it! Thank you for reading until the end. X3 Maybe you'll review if you had fun? And, if you want more from me, I'm writing a SasoDei AU fic, and have several other ideas in my head for them. And KakuHida. Plus, I'll probably take a request or two, if you want. Thank you for reading!!

I don't own Naruto. :D

--

Beautiful S p l i n t e r

O7

Once upon a time, Sasori was feeling better. It made Deidara happy to know that. It made him ecstatic, it made him bubbly, it made him overjoyed. His Danna was committed to being alive. Right, right? Danna was committed to being alive. He was going to stay alive, stay alive with Deidara forever.

Everything was going to be okay.

That was the truth.

The only way that the spark could go out was if one of them snuffed it out themselves. Deidara didn't want that. He wanted it to burn brightly; so brightly that it hurt his eyes.

Danna was feeling better.

Praise the stars, Danna was feeling better. Imagine that…!

Deidara never wanted to see him sick in his heart again. No, it had been worse than that… Sasori had been sick in his very soul, and that was why it had been so hard to nurse him back to health again.

The bomber would gladly help his Danna feel better again, but he never ever wanted to have to make him feel better from a sickness of the soul again.

Not ever.

--

To help Sasori back up a bit more, Deidara thought he'd bring him a present to ease him back to his feet. Something sweet, all for his Danna. It would be a beautiful thing, and hopefully not only in the blonde's eyes. So, it was going to be a gift presented via his favorite art form, but Sasori would still see the message. It was a heartfelt message, so he had to see it. And he would love it.

That was just how it had to be. There was no other way that it could end up.

Love had no other way than to keep brightly burning in an explosion of emotion and feelings. It would stay burning through forever, like a star.

A star was the perfect symbol for the partners, Deidara thought. An explosion that stayed forever. Something that you couldn't easily forget, even if you tried, because it was simply destined to be.

Fate, right?

But anyway, Dei had a present for Sasori, and he arrived bright and early with it in the puppet's room.

"Meh…Dei-chan…? When did you get here…?"

He grinned, "I snuck in here around five AM to wait for you to wake up, un."

"That sounds slightly stalker-ish, you know," Sasori quipped, rising from bed.

"Isn't it great, un?"

"Um…"

"So, I have something to show you! Are you ready, un?"

Sasori smiled slightly. "I don't think I'm _ever _ready for all of the junk you do…"

"Ehh. That's not very nice, un. Especially since I brought you a surprise…"

"Okay, fine. Just show me. I'm ready, I guess…"

"Yaye, un!" Deidara reached into his pocket, thumbing through the clay balls. _Was it this one? Yeah, I think so, un. _He drew it out, and watched eagerly as he detonated it.

_Sasori no Danna will love—eh?_

But the explosion was not the one he'd been expecting to show up.

_Oh…ohhhh, shit, un._

Wrong clay.

It burst out, a brilliant display of brute power, knocking into Sasori's wall of prized puppets, and promptly blowing one on the end to pieces.

Surprise.

Shit.

"Um…um…" Deidara rasped, his stomach sinking as he glanced at the red head.

Sasori was in a state of shock, staring blankly at his decimated puppet, which was smoldering slightly on the ground. Particles of now turned to ash wood floated down, settling next to a charred arm.

_Oh shit, I've killed your puppet, un._

Where was the controlled firework, the one he'd engineered to spell out 'I love you' in twinkling lights? Where was it, hm?

It was still waiting to be selected somewhere in his cluttered pocket.

Why hadn't he cleaned out his clay for combat first? Why? Now look…he'd made a battlefield out of Sasori's room, and he'd killed one of his puppets.

Now where were they headed? Back into the hellish rocks of depressed black? Back into that horrible place with closed eyes and infinite sadness?

Deidara didn't think he could rescue Sasori from there twice, especially if he was the one who put him there for a repeat visit.

Oh, shit.

_What did I do?_

"Um, maybe I should go, un…" he whispered tentatively.

"Ah…wait, no…no, don't go…"

"No, no, I…I think I really should, un…" With the guilt sopping up all of his energy, Deidara slunk out of Sasori's room and back to his own.

Left alone, Sasori stared at the ruined puppet, thinking.

--

Dei passed the morning by, huddled in his room, hating himself. Oh, what did he do? What did he do? Had he brought them back into that hell hole again? Had he? Did he pull them back into those goddamn shadows? He was so afraid of those shadows…and he was afraid for Sasori being back in those shadows.

Oh, he was so afraid of those shadows.

After several more hours of worry and fear, his sticky silence was broken by a tapping at his door.

Sasori.

"Dei-chan?"

It was Sasori…

Misery crawling through his veins, the bomber buried his head under a pillow, trying to deaden the knocking at the door and the guilt and the pounding inside his skull.

"Dei-chan…!"

_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, un._

But he couldn't ignore that voice. He would never be able to ignore that voice. Not ever… "Sasori no Danna, un? I'm in here…"

"Yes, and I want you out here."

"…Why, un?"

"I…I want to pick some flowers."

Eh?

--

Grudgingly, Deidara emerged and followed a regal Sasori outside into a grassy field close by.

"Danna, there aren't any flowers here, un." He noted, scanning the grass. "There's only dandelions…"

Sasori bent, plucking a tall one from the earth, "Well, I like dandelions."

"But…it's just a weed."

He looked up at the puzzled blonde. "Dei-chan, it is not just a weed. It's a yellow flower…"

"A yellow…flower, un?"

"Yes. Here, come back with me." Sasori turned, still grasping the dandelion, and began the walk back to the base.

"Um…okay, un."

_I will follow you anywhere._

--

Safely back inside, Sasori opened his door for them, and murmured, "See?"

"See what? Oh…!"

A new puppet sat propped up, a replacement for the one Deidara had blown apart. It had clear blue eyes and a slightly feminine (but not quite) build, along with a scratched out Iwa headband around its forehead. Most prominently though, a pair of elegant wings sprouted from its back, every feather intricately carved.

Deidara was struck wordless, but Sasori stepped forward, admiring his work. "Not bad, I think."

"No…" Dei said slowly, "Not at all, un…"

"But, I don't have any golden colored yarn yet." The puppet master continued, "So, this will have to do until I can get some." He tucked the dandelion behind its ear, and rejoined the bomber. "Do you see it, Dei-chan?"

"Is it supposed to be…_me, _un?"

Sasori smiled, "I like it much better, actually, than the one you, ah, blew up."

"Really?"

His guilt went lighter, and he could feel it swiftly evaporating from his shoulders.

"I'm really feeling better now, you know?" The Akasuna went on, his eyes proving it as they glowed with life. "Do you know why, Dei-chan?"

"Why, Danna?"

"It's because you never left me alone long enough for me to get lost… It's because you wouldn't let me push you away when I wanted to…and Dei-chan?"

"Un?"

"It's because you're my guardian angel…"

A winged puppet from Iwa with a golden flower, not a weed, on its head.

A guardian angel Deidara.

Forever.

_Danna, un?_

_Don't ever leave me again, okay?_

_--_

_--_

_--_


End file.
